 SAVATAGE
Edge Of Thorns
Atlantic Records 1993
www.savatage.com
What’s the 4-1-1?
Savatage formed in 1978 as Avatar. The band was led by two brothers Jon and
Criss Oliva, and has featured many members over the years. They changed
the name to Savatage in 1983. Although they started their career as a commercial
metal act, they band started to experiment with a more progressive sound
in the early nineties, most notably with their 1990 release Gutter Ballet
and Streets. In 1993, Savatage released Edge of Thorns. The release was
not as progressive as their past efforts. It was a stripped down, guitar
driven album. However, the band still found ways to apply progressive elements
to the music.
Edge of Thorns is a concept album, with a lot of emotional depth.
The lyrics cover such topics as shattered dreams ("Edge of Thorns"), self-mutilation
("He Carves His Stone"), and regrets of a lost love ("Conversation
Piece"). The words would be meaningless if it weren't for the emotional,
melodic voice of Zachary Stevens. Criss Oliva helps drive the emotion home
with his heavy riffs ("Lights Out"), fluid guitar solos ("Damien"),
and soothing keyboard work ("Labyrinths"). The band's greatest
performance is the album’s title track, a theatrical, over the top
production featuring a haunting piano introduction, followed by heavy guitars,
and intense vocals. Keeping with their progressive style, Savatage experiments
with a sitar on "Degrees of Sanity," an instrument virtually unheard
of in heavy metal. The album concludes with the band's first acoustic ballad, "Sleep." The
song is about the death of main character of the album. Of course,
that's open for interpretation. On a sad note, following the release
of Edge
of Thorns, Criss Oliva died in a tragic car accident.
The Verdict
Edge of Thorns is a unique heavy metal "gem" that will challenge
your view of what "metal" should sound like. It's intense,
powerful, and dramatic. I bought this album almost 10 years ago,
because the cover
was cool. Kind of silly huh? I'm glad I took the chance! Edge of
Thorns exposed me to elements that I never thought would have worked
in metal
music. The
combination of heavy guitars, piano, and operatic concepts helped
me discover a new and fresh genre of music. Sure, the piano can be
heard
in plenty
of power ballads, but Savatage took it to the next level, by combining
it with
faster, more powerful rock arrangements.
Did you know
An instrumental on Savatage’s 1995 album Dead Winter Dead, entitled “Christmas
Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)” is the same song you hear every Christmas time
performed by Trans-Siberian Orchestra. Incidentally, T.S.O. is made up of
members of Savatage. (That song sounds like “Carol of the Bells” to
me).
Rating:  out
of 5
Realted Reviews:
Circle II Circle - Watching in Silence
Circle II Circle - Middle of Nowhere
--George Dionne |
|
